The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1887-11-02
A CHANGE on FRONT.
Reform in 1883 Becomes Ringism
in 1887.
How the Reformers Fought Calamity On
Beth Sides Of the Sane Question.
Baton Rouge capitolian-Adyocate.

ORION Rouge l4I1.LOllSfl-A dNOGatp,
Being in desperate straits for campaign
thunder, the Reform papers are trying to
make capital out of the ruling made by the
chairman of The Democratic State Central
Committee, that he had no. the power to
order the secretary either to strike out
names from the roll of the committee or to
add thereto the names of new members,
such power being exclusively vested in the
committee who, so soon rs regularly organ
lied. could act in the matter as they saw
proper, and that no motion could be enter
tanned until the roll had been called and II
quorum found present for the transaction
of business.
The correct ness Of this ruling is SO clear
that il need scarcely be discusseti, and RIr.
,'etfries, OF HSpides, who made the applica-
ton when elected The, ruling, has since vol
letter TO the chairman, in which he says:
A0tr mat the meeting is 0ret al0tg me tn
soy that 0o't SATISFIED me at once Of the cor
rectheSS q B0ln rating on my NrSt application
JoF TIE cal gy ldrts7teS to place uilcontesed
names on the 3'0H."
Yet, 3 number Of reform papers have not
hesltatad to charge the chairman Of the Dem
ocr&tIc State Committee with having acted
Arbitrarily and Improperly i'll the matter.
i, The frivolous and unjust complaint against
t!iG itiI.tlss VI Sitdirltan DSlliE InllS SL-
fectt1allt removed. there remains to discuss
the complaint against the action OF the ma
jorlty OF the committee in referring to IA COM
mlttee on credentials, for veriiicaton, the
credentials OF thlrty-two members elect ap-
plying Tor admission along with an unusual
number OF protests against the seating OF
some OF these members elect and of col tests
to 1mseat several old members Who had been
duly seated at the organization of the COM
mittee III 1884.
is tgrifl A1 h--1 ba hit
the protested and contested CAGES alone should
have been referred to the committee on Gre
dertials, and that in the cases of new men,
bers, against. whose admission no contest Or
protest had been made, such new members
should have been admitted upon the simple
presentation Of their certificates of election,
without any yerltication whatever OF the cor
RICHNESS OF validity Of such certificates.
AT the meeting of October. 1883, where
bnt one contest was made for the seat of q
sitting member, the committee voted down
the motion to refer the certificates of new
members to a committee on credentials, and
resolved to act directly upon the credentials
OF the new members as well rs upon the only
contest before them.
Strange to say. the Reformers, in 1888,
Thought committee on credentials. abso-
solutely necessary even to pass upon nncon-
tested cases, and were opposed to direct
action by the committee, though there was
but single contested case.
On this point, to show that consistency is
a. jewel that is not to be found in the camp of
the Reformers, we quote the following from
the published accounts Of the meeting of
Oct. %, 1888. viz:
''FortD-siG members acre found 10 be pres
Ar. Ssuhbs, Of Ouachita, stated that
Nth getc OF efpedtfltQ the tboit Of the COM
qetttee he would suggest that the names OK
delegates from those parishes where there
was no contest be placed on the rolls as mem
bers and called.
: Mr.. Don Gallery. of st. Mary objected
He said that he thought that the committee
would ind difficulty III saying whether there
was any contest OF not in some cases. 1t 1eas
q departure from an Old rule ana might hdrt
q tendency TO conlpiic0te matters.
Mr.. Boiling Williams, of De Soto, asked
who was to be the Judge whether there was =
contest or not. Would. it be, the secretary!
He was opposed to the adoption Of Mr.
Stubbs' motion"
NoTE.-At the recent meeting Mr.. Boiling
Williams thought that exactly what he
favored in 1883 was an outrage in 1887,
and when what he thought eminen.ly proper
in 1888, was proposed, he said.
We are not children. understand this
as a purpose to carry out certain course
and deprive Democrats OF the State of Louis
lara from participating in the organization
of this committee. When gentleman comes
witt, a contest that they are to be seated III
the background, and not be permitted TO
son meets the case exactly. Where there is
no contest the gentlemen should go on the
roll. Whoever heard in q legislative body,
where o gentleman comes up without con-
test. that his certificate of election should
go before committee on elections.n Zap
plause.]
At the meeting of 1883, in support Of
Messrs. Gallery and Williams:
Cot Hill, OF Orleans, as O substitute
7aored that al the credentials be referred t,
the standing committee on Crecentials, and
that there be recess Of half an hour III
allow them to complete their work. Es,
urged the adoption Of his motion, IA it was
consonant viii the past usages of such bod
les and the party. Let the committee on
credentials have all the credentials referred
to them.'"
Messrs. Don Gallery and Boiling Williams,
in 1883 were reformers of the deepest dye.
Both have again been prominent in the pres
ont campaign on the reform side-one on the
stump and the. other in the public prints and
in the proceedings OF the recent meeting Of
the State Central Committee.
According to these gentlemen, in 1883,
although there trdS but
A SINGLE CONTEST
for the seat of an old member. it was wrong
to seat uncontested members without having
their credentials previously examined BY g
committee on credentials: but in 1857.
when there were
FIFTEEN PROTESTS OR CONTESTS,
some of which had been gotten up on tho
eve of the meeting. it WAS an outrage on
Democracy to refer all credentials to COM
mittee on credentials Of seven members,
three of whom were to be selected 0p each
side and the seventh by the chairman Of the
committee!
The fact that in 1888, there being b,tt one
contest, the committee decided to waive tho
safe rule OF referring all credentials to q
committee on credentials and to even dis
pose of The single contest directly, in no man
ner destroys the propriety of the rule OF re-
ferring certificates of election to commit
tee ON credentials OF elections, for yeritica-
ton, and we are informed that in the high
est parliamentary body in the land, ii is the
rule that the credentials of Senators elect
are sent before special committee for in
vestigation.
Thus the record proves that it makes a
vast difference with our reform friends
whose OK is gored, and that they always take
extreme grounds on whatever side OF the
same question it may suit their purposes to
fight.
We trust that the little exhibit we have
made Of reform inconsistency viii put ..
stop to the attempt to make cheap politlcnt
capital from the very proper course pursued
by the majority at the recent meeting OF the
Democratic State Central Committee.